


a letter from christmas past

by hyucksicles



Series: christmas week [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (off-screen) - Freeform, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas setting, Fluff, Getting Together, Holidays, M/M, Minor Character Death, Winter, festive, slight angst (if u squint)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28073472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyucksicles/pseuds/hyucksicles
Summary: The envelope is a dark yellow color, slightly crumpled at the edges and with a few stains. Donghyuck has to squint his eyes to read the faded ink that sits in the upper corner. He can barely make out the sender’s address except for the name of the city, but it’s the date that makes him do a double take.December 21nd 1972
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Series: christmas week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056557
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	a letter from christmas past

**Author's Note:**

> day one of christmas week! 
> 
> starting this off with some nohyuck :D honestly i find this concept quite unique and it was really fun to write so i hope u all enjoy ^^

A yawn makes its way out of Donghyuck’s mouth as he walks into the kitchen, dragging his fuzzy sock-clad feet against the tiles. He rubs at his eyes, sleep still clinging to them. The late morning sun paints golden rays across the snow that lies outside, and Donghyuck takes a few moments to marvel at the sight of his backyard. His eyes trail over the snow that glitters in the light to the few sparrows that pick at the bird food that hangs from the tree.

Even though he was overjoyed at the prospect of moving out to go to university over a year ago now, he really does miss the quaint little town from time to time. He finds himself happy to be back, the nagging family members he’ll have to tolerate at Christmas dinner be damned. With a sigh and a sniff, Donghyuck snaps back into action, taking out the necessary ingredients to make himself a hot chocolate, the reason he’d come into the kitchen in the first place.

He’s about to lift the steaming mug up to his lips when his grandmother’s voice interrupts him. “Donghyuck dear, the postman was just at the door. Could you bring me the mail, please?”

“Yeah! One sec!” Donghyuck yells across the house, taking a singular sip of his hot chocolate before placing the beverage down and heading towards the main door. He slides across the wooden floor in his fuzzy socks, the action nearly causing him to slip and fall on his back. Donghyuck has to stifle a laugh after the initial shock, childhood memories flooding his mind as he’s reminded of his past self suffering that exact fate. 

With a wistful smile still on his face, Donghyuck bends down to collect the small pile of letters that had been pushed through the mail slot. There’s quite a few of them, mostly Christmas cards from relatives and a bill or two, but there’s one that stands out against the others. The envelope is a dark yellow color, slightly crumpled at the edges and with a few stains. Donghyuck has to squint his eyes to read the faded ink that sits in the upper corner. He can barely make out the sender’s address except for the name of the city, but it’s the date that makes him do a double take. 

_December 21nd 1972_

Donghyuck blinks, and reads it again… and again, and again. No matter how many times he does so he can’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that he is holding an almost 50 year old letter in his hand, one that is addressed to his own grandmother no less. 

He must’ve been staring at it for a little too long however, as his grandmother’s voice once again echoes through the house. “Donghyuckie? Are you alright, dear?” 

“Yeah! I’ll be right there!” Donghyuck turns to head down the hallway but stops right before he enters the living room, still out of sight from where his grandmother sits on the couch. He bites his lip, glancing down at the worn yellow letter that sits at the top of the pile. A twinge of guilt twists his stomach, but curiosity ultimately wins over and Donghyuck hides the envelope in the inside pocket of his sweater. 

After taking a deep breath, Donghyuck walks into the living area. He hands over the letters with a smile that the old woman returns. “Thank you, dear.” She flips through the letters for a second. “Was this all?”

Donghyuck once again feels his stomach turn uncomfortably. He hates lying to her, especially as she looks at him with such a fond expression. Still, he nods his head. 

“I’m gonna be upstairs in my room, okay?” Donghyuck says as he starts to head towards the steps that lead to the first floor of the house. 

“Alright. Make sure to come back down for lunch, your parents will be back by then.” His grandmother answers even though her attention is now on the letters that sit in her lap. 

Donghyuck hums affirmatively in response before he bounds up the stairs and into his room, the hot chocolate sitting on the kitchen counter long forgotten.

* * *

The weight of the letter feels heavy in his hand as Donghyuck traces his fingers along the faded ink on the paper. He mulls over his next move in his mind, occasionally glancing towards the closed door to his room despite the knowledge that anyone entering it is highly unlikely.

Finally, Donghyuck brings himself to open the drawer underneath his desk in search of some scissors, opening the fragile seal of the letter in one swift movement. Hands shaking slightly, Donghyuck pulls out a folded piece of paper, startling a little when a pressed rosebud falls out. And onto the floor.The dried up flower is brittle, brown edges crumbling into dust. Donghyuck, for whatever reason, feels a pang of sadness rip through his heart at the state of the flower and carefully picks up what's left of it so he can place it on his desk.

Then he sinks back onto his bed, drawing up his legs to sit criss-crossed on his duvet. Slowly, he opens the paper, revealing multiple lines of cursive handwriting which is, surprisingly, still legible except for a few smudges. Hurriedly slipping on his glasses, Donghyuck begins to read.

_Dear Jia,_

_I'm sorry if this letter catches you by surprise. I know my timing has never been the best, but Christmas is around the corner, and I can't help but think of you as the days grow colder. Do you remember, years ago, when I used to take you to all the Christmas markets? It wasn't just so you would stop complaining about not getting your fill of mulled wine, you know._

_It was because seeing your smile under the soft fairy lights, with snowflakes dancing across your face and your cheeks and nose rosy, that's when you were your most beautiful. Trust me when I say that everytime, without fail, that smile would make me fall in love all over again._

_And I know that things are different now, that you're somewhere else, and with someone else. But please, for one last Christmas Eve, would you meet me at our special spot?_

_Yours, forever and always,_

_Rosie L._

Donghyuck feels his heart plummet. He rereads the lines again and again, tears stinging at his eyes. A strange feeling that settles in his chest along with this newfound information, and Donghyuck lets himself fall back onto the covers as his mind conjures up images, trudges up thoughts and tries to somehow connect the dots.

Then, with a sense of determination jolting his body upright, Donghyuck decides to get to work.

* * *

The steady humming of the car comes to a halt as Donghyuck kills the engine, leaving in the key so that the heater stays warm. Beads of cold sweat build underneath the strands of hair that dangle onto his forehead as Donghyuck tries to slow his heartbeat. He's spent almost the entirety of the last few days deciphering and tracking down "Rosie L.", finally leading him to the information of her last known address a few towns over. It was hard to narrow it down, and Donghyuck had to rummage through quite a few dusty old phone books, but he has to admit even that even he himself is impressed with his detective work.

Still, it's an odd sensation sitting in the car outside what must be the home of his grandmother's past lover. But before he can dwell on the matter any longer and possibly end up passing out from the nerves, he pulls out his car keys and opens the driver's side door. The cold wind hits him right in the face, and Donghyuck shivers into his woolen scarf (knit by his grandmother no less, go figure) as he trudges across the street.

He's just about to push the front gate open when a slamming of a door against the frame alerts him to the presence of another person exiting the house. Donghyuck looks up and meets eyes with a young man, someone who couldn't be much older than himself.

The guy stands there, frozen in what must be his pajamas, a padded coat and some haphazardly tied up boots. He's got an incredibly handsome face, blessed with looking good despite having seemingly just rolled out of bed, but it's his hair that stands out the most to Donghyuck.

It's bright blue, and it makes him look so very, very out of place in the plain suburban setting that surrounds him.

"Um, I'm sorry can I help you...?"

Donghyuck springs into action at that, walking up and extending his hand only to realize the guy is holding two full garbage bags in his own and letting his arm fall limply to his side. "Uh, I'm Donghyuck. Donghyuck Lee."

The guy awkwardly shuffles past him to dump both bags into the garbage bin just over the brick wall before turning back to him. "Okay... are you extended family, or something?"

"No, no," Donghyuck fumbles, "None of that but um, I'm looking for Rosie Lee? Or, or Rose Lee?"

Donghyuck wrings his gloved hands together as he waits for an answer from the blue-haired boy that's currently just staring at him.

"My grandma..." He says after a moment, and Donghyuck feels relief wash over him at the realization that he was, in fact, in the right place after all.

"She's dead."

"Oh." Donghyuck feels the air drain from his lungs, a sinking feeling in his stomach replacing the previous rush of relief. The guy nods his head slowly before tugging his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes glancing from Donghyuck to the door, and back again.

"Why don't you come in?" He asks, and this time his voice has shifted into something much softer.

"I'm Jeno, by the way."

* * *

About an hour and two pumpkin spice lattes later, both Jeno and Donghyuck have fallen into silence as they sit on the kitchen counter, hands wrapped around the now luke-warm mugs. Donghyuck had tried his best to explain the situation, Jeno listening patiently as he did, only interjecting with a question ever so often. The letter lies between them, once again folded up neatly after Jeno had finished reading through it. 

"I wonder why they decided to deliver it now," Jeno gently breaks the silence, "I mean, why not just throw it away if it's been so long?" 

Donghyuck wonders the same thing. There's really no rhyme or reason as to why the post office would mail out a fifty year old letter. Perhaps, Donghyuck fantasizes a little, perhaps it was fate, he thinks as he locks eyes with Jeno, who's dark irises shimmer as he gazes at him. He doesn't utter that though, however. 

Instead, he shrugs, looking down at the last drops of liquid at the bottom of the holiday themed mug before him. "Maybe it's a Christmas miracle." 

A small chuckle makes it past Jeno's closed lips, the chuckle turning into a full blown laugh after a few seconds. Donghyuck glances over at him, own lips curling upwards as he watches Jeno's eyes form crescent moons, fluffy blue hair bouncing as his shoulders shake. 

"Yeah, maybe," Jeno finally answers as she shakes his head with a grin. Donghyuck can hardly meet his eyes for more than a moment, heat creeping up his chest. Another bout of silence befalls them, but it's over much quicker this time. "Are you going to tell your grandmother... about everything?" 

Donghyuck sucks in a deep breath before exhaling, absentmindedly picking at his cuticles. What would she say? Would she be mad at Donghyuck for keeping it from her? For going off investigating when really, he had no right to? Or worse, would she be heartbroken at the outcome of it all? 

"I suppose I have to... She deserves to know." Donghyuck gives a tight-lipped smile as he answers. The other nods in understanding, finger tracing the rim of his cup. 

Sitting up straight, Donghyuck starts to swing his legs down from the bar stool, hoping it doesn't look as awkward as he thinks he does. "Um, well I guess... I should go..."

Jeno slides off his own stool rather quickly after that, hands lifted as if he were about to reach out. Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. 

"Before you do! Would you, um, would you wanna go for some coffee?" Jeno scratches at the back of his neck, and despite him being about half a head taller than Donghyuck, he suddenly looks a lot smaller. It's cute. "I know we just had some here but, there's this nice cafe not too far from here and, well, I'd like to, you know, get to know you better...?"

Donghyuck can't stop the grin that graces his face. A small huff of a laugh leaves his lips, a little surprised, but happy all the same. "I... yeah. Sure, I would like that." 

"Awesome," Jeno beams, "Let me go..." he glances down at his attire, "...Get changed first and we'll head out."

Donghyuck nods, watching with poorly concealed glee as Jeno zooms up the stairs.

* * *

Donghyuck's grandmother doesn't get mad at him when Donghyuck tells her about the past day's events. She listens quietly as he recounts everything, from the letter and the dried up rose to flipping through old phone books for hours to... Jeno. And when he's done, leg bouncing up and down as he waits for a response, he's surprised at the first words that leave her mouth. 

"Could we go visit her?" 

They go that same afternoon, stopping on the way for a bouquet of roses and meeting Jeno at the entrance to the graveyard. Despite the freezing weather, and the lingering pain Donghyuck is sure his grandmother must feel, like the thorns of a rose digging into her heart, it's not as sad as it may seem. 

Now, a year later, as Donghyuck sits on the floor next to the Christmas tree, his back pressed to Jeno's front, rummaging through the many presents strewn out before him, it's almost crazy to think about how this all started. Thanks to a simple mistake, really, his family has doubled in size, spending most of the major holidays together, especially Christmas, for obvious reasons. 

And honestly, Donghyuck couldn't be happier. 

"Hey," Donghyuck turns at his boyfriends' words, their noses nearly bumping together and prompting soft giggles. 

"What?" He asks, growing shy under Jeno's adoring, ever-shimmering eyes.

"You know," Jeno wraps his arms tighter around Donghyuck's waist, pressing a sweet kiss against the younger's cheek before resting his chin on Donghyuck's shoulder. 

"I'm starting to believe that letter really was a Christmas miracle."

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> as always, kudos/comments are very much appreciated ♥
> 
> follow me on [twt](https://twitter.com/neoneversIeeps)  
> my [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/neoneversleeps)
> 
> and have a very merry christmas 🎄⛄❄


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